Missed free throws leave St. Francis short Missed free throws leave St. Francis short (January 07, 2005)

Lancers bounce back to third-place in tourney

By Scott Campbell

As James Bisordi's free-throw attempt with 10.7 seconds remaining fell just short of the basket, so did St. Francis' hopes of completing a monumental comeback against an undefeated Palo Alto team.

The Lancers dug themselves out of a 20-point third-quarter deficit to close to within one point after Bisordi's first free throw. But they weren't able to pull even in this semifinal game of the St. Francis Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29.

"I was ready for the second one (but) their coach called a timeout to try to ice me," said Bisordi. "I left it a little bit short, no legs."

St. Francis (6-5) had one last chance to score, but junior swingman Richie Scudellari's in-bounds pass sailed untouched down the length of the court. The score ended 48-47 in the Vikings' favor.

After taking a 16-8 first-quarter lead, Palo Alto (13-1) relied on its defense to hold St. Francis to one field goal, a jump shot by junior guard Adam Budelli with 1:49 remaining, in the second quarter.

"We weren't making good choices and when we did, the shots didn't fall," said St. Francis coach Steve Filios.

A more composed St. Francis team emerged from the locker room trailing 28-10, and went on a 20-11 third-quarter run. Patient passing around the perimeter led to open shots for Bisordi, Budelli, and senior guard Brady Fuerst, who combined for four three-pointers and all but one of the Lancers' points in the period.

"In the second half, we slowed it down a little more and played our kind of game," said Budelli, who led St. Francis with 13 points. "We stuck and dug into the game and almost won it."

As the Lancers' momentum carried into the fourth quarter, St. Francis forced turnovers and closed the gap. After two free throws from junior forward Wes Libuit, the score was 48-46 in Palo Alto's favor with 29 seconds remaining.

But in the end, it was the missed free throws that prevented St. Francis from completing its comeback. The Lancers, who shot only 15 of 28 from the line, missed six foul shots in the fourth quarter alone.

While Palo Alto took its first loss the following night in the championship game to Santa Cruz 70-58, St. Francis recovered to post a 70-59 win over University (Irvine) in the third-place game.

After completing a pre-season schedule filled with top-notch opponents, St. Francis now embarks on play in the highly competitive West Catholic Athletic League.

"We have to find a way to take care of the turnover situation and clean up our free-throws and shooting percentage," said Filios.

St. Francis hosts Riordan in a league game on Jan. 7.

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

E-mail a friend a link to this story.